Oral Treatments for Colon Cancer

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My mother was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in February 2006. She is now hospitalized for the second time since surgery in February. Chemo was stopped indefinitely. Do the targeted oral treatments have any benefit at her stage?

Targeted therapies are those that attack a very specific protein related to the cancer, as opposed to chemotherapy, which attacks all cells simultaneously and broadly. Currently, there are no FDA-approved oral targeted therapies for colon cancer. The only oral medication shown to be effective for colon cancer is capecitabine or Xeloda. This is chemotherapy and does have side effects, which include lowering of white and red blood cells as well abdominal discomfort, nausea or diarrhea. When patients are acutely ill, additional chemotherapy may act further to weaken the immune system and may be of limited benefit. However, it is best to discuss this with your mother’s physician as each situation is unique.

Last Updated: 1/1/2007

Colon cancer expert Dr. Saeed Sadeghi is a staff physician and an assistant clinical professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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